At Glendale Community College, students have many advantages to online learning from being able to check out laptops from the school to working on assignments at their own pace. Many schools only have Chromebooks to check out, but at GCC there are more laptops available for checkout.
Amy Chavez said “I was nervous about doing my classes online because my personal computer is slow, but when one of my professors let me know that students could check out laptops from GCC I was relieved.”
By going to the GCC website, go to the bottom of the home page where it says Technology Help. On the Technology help page there will be a section called More Tech Help. In that section, you will click on the GCC Equipment/ Technology Checkout Request form. After selecting the link the page will ask you what you want to do where you can select complete new form. The student will fill out that form. Then, you will receive an email when it’s been approved. Even though the computer details won’t allow you to change the type of laptop, they will lend you a laptop that is suited to your classes. After requesting a laptop, students can pick them up on that Thursday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. in the High Tech One building at the Service Desk. Don’t forget to bring an ID with you when checking out a device. When receiving the laptop, the service desk will check to see what type of laptop will benefit the student the most by checking their class schedule. If you have classes that require programs such as Photoshop, they will give you one that will work for that class.
Chavez also likes “not having to spend as much money on gas to commute to classes.”
With gas prices rising, this will benefit many students, especially the students who live farther away from the college. Many students, like Chavez, also appreciated being able to work at their own pace and in the comfort and safety of their own homes. Overall, there are many benefits to online learning at GCC.
https://www.gccaz.edu/technology-help
Thank you Stephanie for writing such an informative and helpful article! I love that you broke this down into easy steps to help better the education of others.
One of the biggest problems I have heard of with online learning is equipment. Not having any or not having the latest model that can update the software. The ability to check out a laptop makes the entire concept of online learning seem so much more accessible! When my computer just died in the middle of a final last semester(Yes, that really happened and was not just me trying to buy time) I panicked, I couldn’t afford a new laptop! I ended up making it work via a payment plan but that’s really the only way I was able to continue my online education. This is such a game changer.
I also love that while attending school you have free access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, that has been immensely helpful. I don’t think I could go to to school if I had to pay for everything like classes, books and an Adobe membership-it all adds up!
Saving time and money by taking classes from home can really make a difference financially. If you are able to focus and manage your time, it is absolutely worth it!
Hi Stephanie, Thank you for writing about this important benefit available to students! I think a lot of students feel more comfortable doing coursework from home right now, but not everyone has access to a personal computer to do so. It’s great that the school is offering laptops that are compatible with the needs of the class you’re taking. I’m in a digital video effects course right now, which requires a computer with a specific graphics processing unit (GPU) to complete the projects. Our instructor let us know we would check out a computer from the school with a capable GPU if we didn’t have one the first week of the semester. It’s a major relief for anyone who doesn’t have that on hand since it’s not a cheap item! I’ll be sure to share this article with anyone who needs a walk-through on how to check out a laptop from the school.